Residence Act

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/residence-act

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the statute citation?1 Stat. 130
2. What is the enactment date?July 16, 1790
3. What was the Residence Act of 1790?The Residence Act was a law that decided where the U.S. capital would be and set a temporary location while the new capital was being built.
4. Why did the Residence Act choose Philadelphia as a temporary capital?Philadelphia was chosen as a temporary capital so the government could keep working while the new capital on the Potomac was being planned and built.

Federal Statute: A law enacted by the legislative branch of the United States federal government.
Compromise of 1790: A pivotal political agreement resolving disputes over the national capital's location and federal assumption of state Revolutionary War debts.
Seat of Government: The principal city or location where the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of a government are based.